Body

HOUSTON - (Dec. 10, 2015) - Proteins are little Olympians in the games of life, racing around cells to trigger critical processes through interactions with specific genes. Sometimes they're sprinters, sometimes hurdlers. But they generally find their genetic targets, whatever the obstacles.

A new theoretical study by Rice University scientists looks at the roles of those obstacles, and how they hinder -- and sometimes help -- proteins in finding their targets along strands of DNA.

Infinitesimal fluctuations occurring on the milli- and even nano-second time scales within the three-dimensional structure of enzymes may be one of the keys to explaining protein function. Professor Nicolas Doucet's team at INRS has demonstrated that even when certain amino acids are far from the active site of an enzyme, a change in their flexibility and atomic fluctuations can significantly impact enzyme activity.

New fossil evidence shows that Australia's fire-prone shrubland open vegetation originated at least 70 million years ago -- 40-50 million years earlier than previously thought.

The findings, published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Botany, reject prevailing wisdom that Australia was covered with rainforest until 40 million years ago, and that currently dominant native vegetation types evolved after that on a drying continent with increasing fire.

In clinical trials, several candidate H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccines made from inactivated viruses have been shown to be safe and to generate an immune response. However, scientists believe for practical use, these potential vaccines would require multiple doses or the addition of adjuvants, which enhance the immune response. With hopes of making one dose of an inactivated H7N9 vaccine fully protective, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) successfully tested a prime-boost concept in a small clinical trial.

The evolution of the striking, wing-like pectoral fins of skates and rays relied on repurposed genes, according to new research by scientists from the University of Chicago. Studying embryonic skates, they discovered that the rear portion of the fin is built by typical limb-development genes; but the front portion develops through a different set of genes that are usually found in the shoulder areas of other species.

SAN ANTONIO -- Among patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, metastatic breast cancer, those who had a D538G and/or a Y537S mutation in the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene, as detected in cell-free DNA obtained from patient blood samples, had significantly worse median overall survival, according to data presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

SAN ANTONIO -- Among patients with early-stage breast cancer, those who received breast- conserving surgery plus radiation therapy had improved overall survival after 10 years compared with those who received mastectomy without radiation therapy, according to data presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

SAN ANTONIO -- Among the various guideline-concordant local therapy options available for women with early-stage breast cancer in the United States, mastectomy plus reconstruction had the highest complication rates and complication-related costs for both younger women with private insurance and older women on Medicare, and it was the most expensive option for younger women, according to data presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

SAN ANTONIO -- Responses to tamoxifen were significantly prolonged by reducing levels of the enzyme APOBEC3B in preclinical models of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and significantly shortened by increasing levels of APOBEC3B, suggesting that APOBEC3B drives resistance to tamoxifen, according to data presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

In a review of guideline-concordant treatment modalities for women with early stage breast cancer, mastectomy and reconstruction had the highest rate of complications and complication-related costs, regardless of age. It was also the most expensive treatment option in a younger patient population, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Scientists have found a marker that can indicate your likelihood of suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) even sixteen years before the condition takes effect. A team from the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at Oxford University found that a blood test that looks for antibodies that recognize the protein tenascin-C could reliably show those who will contract the condition.

Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have developed a short peptide that inhibits the activation of a signal pathway in monocytes that enables monocytes to adhere stick to endothelial cells and penetrate sites of acute inflammation.

AMES, Iowa - Adolescence is a time when many children may consider experimenting with alcohol or drugs. New research shows parents can reduce that risk by maintaining a healthy and open relationship with their children.

Okinawa, Japan -- A team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), led by Group Leader Chuya Shinzato in Professor Noriyuki Satoh's Marine Genomics Unit, has analyzed the genome of 155 samples of Acropora digitifera corals and proposed a new theory on how coral populations have migrated within the Ryukyu Archipelago, in southern Japan. Their findings have just been published in Scientific Reports.

New research into how a plant virus assembles could lay the groundwork for future use to carry drugs into the human body.

The study, by a team from the University of Leeds' Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, describes the structure of an empty version of Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) and the molecular 'glue' that allows the virus to build itself and encapsulate its genome.